Sewing-machine gage



(No Model.) 2 Sheets--Sheet I. A. MOREHOUSE.

, SEWING MACHINE GAGE.

No. 356,414. Patented Jan. 18, 1887.

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V 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. A. MOREHOUSE.

SEWING MACHINE GAGE. No. 856,414. Patented Jan. 18, 1887.

ATTORNEY N PETERS, Phclo-Lilhuiznphor. Wnlhinglon. D4 0.

' bury, in the county of Fairfield and State of tion to be secured by sewing, and a system UNTTED STATES FATENT @EETQE.

AARON MOREHOUSE, OF DANBURY, CONN ASSIGNOR TO THE HAT SW'EAT MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

SEWING-MACHINE GAGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 356,414, dated January 18, 1887.

Application filed June 18,1856. Serial No. 205.584. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, AARON MoREHoUsE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dan- Connectiout, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sewing Machine Gages, chiefly for the purpose of adapting them to sewliatsweats,securing together reed, reed-covering, and leather at one operation, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a system of gages that will keep the various parts comprising the hat-sweat in proper posithat will be as nearly as possible automatic, requiring only that the operator shall properly supply the materials.

My system of gages is also intended to be used to cover the reed alone, or to sew an already-covered reed to a sweat-leather, and it will also be useful in sewing cords, &c., into woven goods.

To these ends my improved system or combination of gages consists of a number of pieces which may be secured to, the plate of any sewing-machine.

My system ofgages in its best form includes the following parts, viz: an outer-edge guide to keep the leather up to the needle or needles, an inner-edge guide for the leather at the edge to be sewed, an auxiliary gage to keep the covered reed down upon the leather just as they approach the needle or needles, a reed and. reed-cover carrier to insure the uniform and smooth feeding of these two materials, and,

finally, the folding-guide which controls the reed and bends the cover around it. These parts may be briefly described as follows:

The gage for the outer edge of the leather consists of a thin plate of metal bentupon itself so as to form a sort of trough or gutter through which the leather can easily pass, the edge of the leather resting against the bottom of the gutter. This gage is secured by means of a rod, spring, and bracket to the cloth-plate'of the machine, or in any other proper manner, and is best secured to the plate adj ustably so as to adapt it to varying widths of material.

The reed and cover carrier has a short tube to support the reed, and a curved opening between two thin metal plates to support the reed-cover and cause it to be delivered to the folding-gage, which also has a tube for the reed, and is so formed or bent in a well-known way as to fold the cover over the reed. The reed as it emerges from this gage is inclosed in its cover, and the two are then more firmly pressed together by a bent plate. Beneath the folding gage or guide there is a thin piece of metal bent upon itself and flattened together so asto formagutter,leavingjust space enough for the leather alone to pass, and the bottom of this gutter is the inner-edge guide for the leather.' Behind this gage or guide a gage is placed having a concave groove on its upper edge in which the covered reed can run just as it leaves the folding gage or guide, and thus be kept accurately in place. This gage can be adjusted for different sizes of reeds, &c.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of the cloth-plate of a sewing-machine fitted with myinvention, and withapartly-fi'nished sweatleather in place in process of being sewed. Fig. 2 is a plan View of several of the gages forming the system and a portion of the clothplate, but omitting the sweat-leather to show the parts of my system of gages more clearly. Fig. 3 shows a top view of the outer-edge guide. Fig. 4 is a side view of the preferred means for mounting the outer-edge guide B of the leather. Fig. 5 is a cross-section on the line 12 o of Fig. 3 of the outer-edge guide B for the leather. -Fig. 6 is a plan view of the plate D. Fig. 7 is a crosssection of this plate D on the liney 3 of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of a portion of plate D, showing the groove for the reed and its cover. Fig.

9 is a perspective view of the folding-guide E, by which the reed is enfolded in its cover. Fig. 10 is a view of the same gage at that end where the reed and its cover enter it. Fig.

-11 is a view of the same gage at the end where the reed and its cover leave it. Fig. 12 is a plan view of the gage G. Fig. 13 is a crosssection of the gage G on the line 2 z of Fig. 5 12. Fig. 14 is a perspective view of the small inner or auxiliary gage, H, for guiding the edge both of the leather and the cover of the reed, and keeping the various parts of the sweat well pressed together until they are acted upon by the needles. ,Fig. 15 is a side elevation of this gage. Fig. 16 is a perspective View of the reed and reed-cover carrier F. 'Fig. 17 is a cross-section of this same carrier.

IOO

Similar letters refer to like parts throughout the several figures.

The arrow indicates the direction of the feed of the goods while being sewed.

w are washers; s, screws.

In the drawings, referring, when not otherwise specified, to Figs. 1 and 2, Ais the clothplate, having the opening A for feed, and the irregular threat a for the needles.

P shows the top of the presser-foot; L, the leather; R, the reed; r, the reed-cover.

B is the guide for the outer edge of the leather, consisting of a plate of sheet metal bent upon itself, as shown in the section, Fig. 5. A red, I), is soldered or otherwise secured to the upper portion, B,0f this plate, and passes through holes in a small frame, 0, which is secured beneath the cloth-plate, and may be held in any required position by a sliding block, 0, and sctscrews 0 which are acted upon by a spiral spring, 0, which forces the gage toward the needles.

D is a small plate screwed to the cloth-plate, one edge being close to the presser-foot, a slight bevel, (Z, being made where the presserfoot overlaps it. Its end is placed close to the stitching-line, and a groove, is made upon its upper edge. This groove is best made in the form of a portion of a cone, the point being farthest away from the needles. This groove is shown at d in Fig. 8. Its object is to support and guide the covered reed, and thus keep it in the exact position to be stitched to the sweat-leather in its proper place.

Eis the folding guide or gage proper, in which the reed cover is doubled together and folded over to inclose the reed.

Referring now to Figs. 9 and 10, E is the support of this gage, which is screwed to the cloth-plate e, a thicker portion carrying the upper lip, e, which slopes downward on the under side of its outgoing end, as indicated at e. The underlip, e", is bent over on itself, and to the upper portion is attached by one edge the tubular reed-guide e". The other portion is secured to the thick part c of the plate E. The reed-guide e is a tube just large enough for the reed to pass freely through, and placed far enough from the inside of the gage to permit the reed-cover to be folded over the tube.

F, Figs. 16 and 17, is the reed and reedcover carrier. It acts to support these parts in proper position to enter the folding-guide E. This carrier F consists of a base, F, sloping upward at F, the curved flattened tube f? f for the reed-cover, and the small tubef for the reed. The flattened tube is large enough in its interior to permit the ready insertion of the reed-cover.

G, Figs. 12 and 13, is the inner-edge guide for keeping the edge of the leather to be stitched in place andin correct alignment. It consists of a thin plate folded over so as to form a gutter, and the upper part pressed down upon the lower so as to leave just space enough for the thickness of the leather. The fold is cut through for the greater portion of its length to give more elasticity, and I prefer to make the plate of spring metal. The slight upright edge left by the cut and the bottom of the gutter act as the inner-edge guide for the leather, and this gage, in combination with D, keeps the leather and covered reed in proper position, both with regard to each other and the needles.

H is an auxiliary gage for folding the cover more closely upon the reed, keeping the parts well together, and assisting in keeping the edge of the leather in line. It is shown detached in Figs. 14 and 15. This auxiliary gage is made and attached so as to exert a spring or yielding pressure on-the parts of the sweat. The part H is a means of attachment. It is screwed into E, as shown in Fig. 1. The part H acts to keep the parts of the sweat together, and the small triangular vertical portion h" acts as a support and assists as an inner-edge guide for the leather. The portion H, when on the machine, slopes downward toward the needles. The acting parts of all these guides and gages may be attached to the cloth-plate in any suitable manner. These'gages may be made left-handed, so that the outer or unsewed edge of the leather will be on the left hand outside the needles, if desired.

The method of using these gages is as follows: The leather is introduced under the upper part, 9, of the inner gage, G, and the outer gage, B, is set to the width ofthe leather, the reed is slipped through f and e and under H until it abuts against the presser-foot. The reed-cover is introduced into the carrier f z (for which purpose a slot is left in the upper part off) and spread out the full width. The cover is then passed through the folding-guide E around the reed-tube 0, then around the reed, and under H until it reaches and is caught by the feed. The reed and its cover rest in the groove d in the plate D, and are thus kept accurately in line. Different sizes of reeds will require a slight adjustment of this plate, which is provided for by making the hole in the plate somewhat larger than the screw used to secure it to the plate. The various parts now being in position, the machine is started, and after the first stitch is taken the several parts are automatically kept in place and stitched together.

This system of guides or gages is intended for use in its entirety to secure all the parts of a sweat-leather together; but the parts are adapted to be used in several subeombinations to cover a reed or cord or to sew an already covered reed or cord to a leather. To cover a reed, the guides F, E, H, andD are used. To sew an already-covered reed or cord to a strip ICC of leather or other material, the guides F and what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of a carrier forthe support and delivery of a reed and covering-strip, afolding-guide containing atubular reed-guide extending through it, an auxiliary guide to keep the parts well together, and an edgeguide consisting of a groove to direct the reed and its cover, substantially as described.

2. The combination of an outer-edge guide for the leather, a rigidinner-edge guide consisting of a thin metal plate folded upon itself and having the fold out through for the greater portion of its length, as described, an auxiliary spring-guide to keep the work together, and an edge-guide for the covered reed to be secured to the leather, the said last-mentioned guide being a groove, as described, all constructed substantially as shown, and for the purpose specified.

3. The combination, in a guide for sewing hat-sweats or other articles, of a foldingguide with its tubular reed-guide,an auxiliary guide sloping down upon the work and acting by spring-pressure to keep the work together, an inner-edge guide for theleather, consisting of a thin piece of metal folded upon itself and with the fold out through, as described,a yielding outer-edge guide for theleather,and guide for the reed and its cover, consisting of a plate provided with a groove in its edge, the whole made and combined as shown and described.

4. The combination, in a guide for sewing hat-sweats or other articles, of a carrier for supporting and delivering the reed and reedcover, a folding-guide with its reed-tube, an

auxiliary spring-guide for keeping the various parts of the work together, an inner edge guide for theleather, consisting of a thin sheet of metal folded upon itself and having the fold slit through, as described, a yielding and adjustable outer-edge guide and an edge-guide for the reed and cover, consisting of a plate provided with agroove on its edge, all substantially as described.

5. The combination, in a guide for sewing hat-sweats or other articles, of a scroll, F, for delivering the reed and its covering, consisting of abase,a curvilinear flattened open tube, f, for the covering, and a small open scroll,

f, for the reed, a folding-guide, E, consisting of a base plate, a scroll for folding the cover, the inside of the upper lip, e, of the scroll sloping toward the needles, and the inner end of the scroll having attached to it a tubular reed-guide, 6 a spring guide, H, consisting of a base-plate, H, and a portion, H, sloping toward the needles, provided with a vertical edge, h, an edge'guide, D, having a hollow curved tapering bevel, d an inner-leather guide, G, having the folded and slotted part 9, and a yielding outer-edge guide, B, all substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

AARON MOREHOUSE.

\Vitnesses:

WILLIAM A. BARNUM, DAVID B. BOOTH. 

